Schools’ Democracy Week: IEC to teach kids about the importance of voting

The sixth annual School’s Democracy Week programme will take place from 23 to 27 April. The crucially important initiative will work to educate learners on democracy as well and why it is so important for them to vote.

Anybody who has attended a South African school in the last 20 years will know that there has been barely any education on the importance of voting. Aside from the obvious history classes, the majority of young South Africans are not made aware of issues like municipal and provincial elections.

The programme is a joint initiative between the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Department of Basic Education.

Staff from the Electoral Commission’s Outreach Division in nine provinces will visit participating public schools and lead activities which will include debates, presentations, mock elections, role play, voter registration, interactive sessions, lectures and formal lessons.

The programme started in 2013, in the run-up to the 2014 National and Provincial Elections, when the Electoral Commission signed a three-year memorandum of agreement with the department to facilitate the teaching of “civic and democracy education” in schools across the country.

According to the IEC’s Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission, Sy Mamabolo, the initiative is huge for the commission and South Africa as a whole.

“This collaboration has grown from strength to strength and has become a highlight of the Electoral Commission’s calendar. It is no coincidence that Schools’ Democracy Week is held during the week in which South Africa celebrates Freedom Day – the 27th of April each year. That date has a special place in every South Africans heart – and especially for us at the Electoral Commission.”

Aside from the obvious voter education benefits, the program will do a lot to get rid of the global use of the word “apathy” to describe young people and voting.

In SA, voter registration for voters younger than 30 years old grew just 4.6% compared to an average increase of 11.3% for all other age segments over the past five years.

The program will have to get those numbers up fast, 2019 is just around the corner.